A single score can tell you that a city is more expensive. It does not tell you what changed, how much is housing, or what your salary means after a move.

Start with your cities

Compare the places you are actually considering rather than decoding a reference-city index.

See the categories

Housing, utilities, food and transportation stay separate so the overall difference has an explanation.

Use local currencies

City inputs and source evidence stay in local currencies; conversion is a display layer.

Know the limits

Ranges, confidence, review dates and provisional status are shown instead of implied precision.

Methodology matters

No mystery score.

Evidence gate: 32 city pages currently qualify for the search sitemap. 15 additional cities remain browsable as research models but are held out of search until numeric core evidence or a deeper verified profile is added.

We compare a consistent modeled consumer basket and show the pieces that move the answer. Source dates and exchange-rate dates stay visible because cost-of-living data gets stale.

Read the full methodology →

✓One published solo-renter personaHousehold models are not multiplied from the solo baseline.

✓Local-currency salary handlingCurrency conversion displays values without rewriting source data.

✓Rounded planning estimatesWe avoid dollar-perfect outputs that imply false precision.

✓Coverage expands carefullyNumbers are published only after their source state passes the metric gate.

Questions

What this calculator does—
and doesn’t do.

What does the monthly cost include?

The published one-person model includes rent, utilities/connectivity, groceries, eating out, public transit and household/personal essentials. Optional categories stay separate.

Is the salary equivalent what an employer should pay me?

No. The salary output only scales by the ratio of the two one-person core-cost midpoints. It does not model income tax, take-home pay or employer compensation, so it is planning context rather than a compensation recommendation.

Why are there 47 cities right now?

Coverage expands only when the source spine is strong enough to support a consistent city record. Newer or thinner markets are visibly provisional.

Why show both cost-data and FX dates?

Local prices and exchange rates update on different schedules. Keeping both dates visible makes the conversion auditable.

Planning guides

Use the numbers without oversimplifying the move.

Method

Browse all planning guides →

Compare the cost of living across the world

Start with the world’s major
urban centres.

Not just an index. A comparison
you can understand.

Start with your cities

See the categories

Use local currencies

Know the limits

No mystery score.

What this calculator does—
and doesn’t do.

Use the numbers without oversimplifying the move.

How to compare two cities

Rent vs total cost of living

How household size changes the budget

What salary do you need to move?

Exchange rates, PPP & cost of living

Compare the cost of living across the world

Start with the world’s majorurban centres.

Not just an index. A comparisonyou can understand.

Start with your cities

See the categories

Use local currencies

Know the limits

No mystery score.

What this calculator does—and doesn’t do.

Use the numbers without oversimplifying the move.

How to compare two cities

Rent vs total cost of living

How household size changes the budget

What salary do you need to move?

Exchange rates, PPP & cost of living

Start with the world’s major
urban centres.

Not just an index. A comparison
you can understand.

What this calculator does—
and doesn’t do.